Not Naked Onsen?
 

Is there any onsen in Japan where bathers are permitted to wear bathing suits? My teens aren’t super onboard with the traditional experience…

Someone else can correct me, but nope, no clothes, bathing suits or any kind of outerwear is allowed in an onsen. It’s a bath, not a swimming pool, as one site stated.

I agree with progol. It is extremely unlikely that you will find an onsen where any form of clothing is permitted. Some friends with teenage boys really wanted to visit Japan where they once lived but got a flat NO! from the kids when they described the onsen etiquette . The best they can hope for is a small flannel to preserve their modesty. That said, it is possible to book a private session in some ryokans.

There are onsens with private rooms with private baths. We visited one in Hakone last year

No one in an onsen gives a second thought to others being naked, no one stares, no one cares. It’s a great cultural experience and I hope they will be open to trying it.

The other problem is the locker room. It's not like you just change your clothes discretely in front of your locker--you walk to the bath and back in your birthday suit. Also, there will be other ladies walking around the locker room in the buff. That in itself may make the teenagers feel uncomfortable.

I stayed at a hotel in Fukuoka that had an onsen on the premises. If you are intent on trying it, you can maybe plop the teens down in a nice cafe while you give it a try.

Personally, I dislike onsens. I find them hot and boring, but many people think they're great.

I loved going into an onsen but you can’t really stay in them too long. As CaliforniaLady says, find a place where you can go to the onsen while your kids enjoy another activity. I stayed in a hotel with onsen (Kaga region) which also had a lot of other activities. You might look for a place that offers an onsen while also having other options to kid your teens happy.

When I visited an onsen for the first time, I was uneasy too. However, after noticing that all people were polite and concentrated on relaxing, my enjoyment of the experience grew significantly. I recommend you try it first and then share your experience with your teens; perhaps they will join you the next time.

When it comes to public hot springs baths, yes, there are such places. The onlly one I can think of is in Hakone (is it Yunnesun?). You would be looking for a place that offers mixed-gender bathing and then find out if it is nude or not.

As mentioned above some onsen ryokan offer private baths."Family" baths where you reserve a time period to use a bath. It would be in a common area and shared with other guests who reserve their private time in it.

You can also find places with rooms that have an onsen bath included. Might be outdoors, but secluded. Might not be large enough for more than two people. Would be private use and access.

Children who grow up in a nudist family somethimes reject the lifestyle for a period of time but come back to it later. Call it a non-nude phase that I think is during during their early teen years. So I was told.

We went to a hotel in Japan that has private onsens as part of the rooms. It was a surprise as we didn’t realize they had them. So relaxing!

Hello fellow traveler, I am going to Japan in April and want to experience onsen with clothes. I am going to visit Shinzonso near Takayama, it is an onsen where you can wear your bathing suit, I am told. You can check it out.

i suspect teenagers do not want to be naked with their parents in an onsen possibly more so than with foreigners.

At an onsen one washes completely and rinses thoroughly before entering the soaking facility. That is the tradition and is a courtesy to other bathers. If you wash thoroughly you’re already naked, if you wash with a bathing suit on you are not thoroughly clean and who’s to say your bathing suit is clean before entering the bath. If the sento allows it then fine, if not then tradition and courtesy should be followed. Otherwise skip it entirely.

Curiousgeo said it best. You do not go into an onsen, rip off your clothes and jump in the bath. You are expected take off your clothes, put them in the baskets provided, then sit at the faucets. You douse yourself with water, scrub all over, then rinse well. Only after that do you get into the bath, or anyone already there will be totally grossed out...
Your best bet would be to get a room with a private tub, or reserve a family time in the communal baths. When my daughters were teens, they always raced up to the baths about 15 minutes before closing, as most "soakers" had finished by then!

Try Kawayu Onsen in Wakayama Prefecture. We have been to 32 ryokan/minshuku onsen over the years and this is one we remember for seeing clothes worn everywhere. Sorry for the delayed response but I don't frequent these forums as much as I used to.

Aloha!

The OP hasn't returned to the thread since posting five weeks ago. Perhaps wasn't a serious question.

You are referring to a lot of onsen ryokan having rooms with private onsen. Could you recommend anyone? I am not restricted in areas as we are planning a road trip

Private onsen baths or private reserved time in an onsen ryokan bath are pretty common all over Japan, especially in an onsen town.